NL2008001C2

NL2008001C2 - Method and scraper for releasing tissue connections between a fillet and a carcass of slaughtered poultry.

Info

Publication number: NL2008001C2
Application number: NL2008001A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Ferdinand Allard Vos; Jeroen Bohm; Marcel Verhagen; Pieter Willem Vonk
Original assignee: Meyn Food Proc Technology Bv
Priority date: 2011-12-20
Filing date: 2011-12-20
Publication date: 2013-06-24
Also published as: US8758097B2; BR102012028912B1; EP2606736A1; CN103168820A; RU2519876C1; CN103168820B; RU2012145578A; DK2606736T3; BR102012028912A2; US20130157554A1; EP2606736B1

Description

Method and scraper for releasing tissue connections between a fillet and a carcass of slaughtered poultry

The invention relates to a method for releasing tis-5 sue connections between a fillet and a carcass of slaughtered-poultry, using a scraper comprising a stem ending into a first scraping lip which is bent to follow a carcass contour. The invention relates also to said scraper.

Such a method and scraper are known from day to day 10 practice and are used in high-speed processing lines for harvesting high-quality fillets from poultry carcasses on industrial scale.

To date the quality requirements of fillets are ever increasing resulting amongst others in the need to provide 15 fillets free of any fatty tissue still attaching to the fillets. This imposes a heavy challenge on designers and developers of machinery for automated harvesting of fillets, since the removal of fatty tissue can hardly be automated.

It is therefore a first object of the invention to 20 provide a method and apparatus capable to harvest fillets of poultry of the highest feasible quality.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus by which in the fillets can be harvested substantially free of attaching fatty tissue.

25 It is still a further object of the invention to au tomate to the largest possible extent the harvesting of fillets such that they are substantially free of attaching fatty tissue.

In connection with the previous object, it is an ob-30 , ject of the invention to save on manual labor which would oth erwise be required for providing fillets that are substantially free of attaching fatty tissue.

These and other objects and advantages are promoted by using a scraper and method for releasing tissue connections 35 between a fillet and a carcass of slaughtered poultry having the features of one or more of the appended claims.

According to a first aspect of the invention a scraper for releasing tissue connections between a fillet and a carcass of slaughtered poultry is proposed, comprising a stem 2008001 2 ending into a first scraping lip which is bent to follow a carcass contour, which differentiates from the prior art in that the stem is provided with a second scraping lip for release of at least part of the fatty tissue connected to a side 5 of the fillet.

The scraper of the invention enables that during scraping at least part of the fatty tissue connected to an exposed or uncovered side of the fillet is released therefrom. With the exposed or uncovered side of the fillet is meant the 10 side of the fillet that does not attach to the carcass. Accordingly the fatty tissue can be released from the fillet by a scraper that is simultaneously applied for releasing the fillet from the carcass. This is highly beneficial from a viewpoint of processing efficiency and automation and avoids 15 the necessity to manually remove the fatty tissue afterwards when the processing of the fillets is complete. The harvesting of the fillets can therefore be maintained at high speed whilst even improving on the quality of the harvested fillets and reducing the costs to acquire such high-quality fillets.

20 Advantageously the second scraping lip is shaped as a protrusion extending in line of the stem thus departing from the contour of the carcass. This measure enables that the fatty tissue is removed by scraping it from the surface of the fillet.

25 To promote the scraping of the fatty tissue from the surface of the fillet, it is advantageous that the second scraping lip is slightly offset with reference to the plane of the stem and/or the first scraping lip so as to introduce some play between the surface of the carcass and the second scrap-30 ing lip at the time this second scraping lip is out of contact with the carcass so as to cause that during the scraping action the second scraping lip then will damage a membrane connecting the fatty tissue with the outer side of the fillet.

The invention will hereinafter be further elucidated 35 with reference to a drawing of an exemplary embodiment of the scraper and its use in accordance with the invention.

In the drawing: -figure 1 shows a scraper of the invention in a side view; 3 -figure 2 shows the scraper of the invention from below; -figure 3 shows the scraper of the invention with a view at the first and second scraping lip; 5 -figure 4 schematically shows frontally the use of the scraper of the invention while processing a carcass on its carrier; and -figure 5 shows the processing of figure 4 in a side view.

10 Whenever in the figures the same reference numerals are applied, these numerals refer to the same parts.

With reference first to figures 1-3, the scraper of the invention is generally denoted with reference 1. The scraper 1 is in accordance with its function intended for releas-15 ing tissue connections between a fillet 5 (see figures 4 and 5) and a carcass of slaughtered poultry, and comprises a stem 2 ending into a first scraping lip 3 which is bent out of the plane of the stem 2 to follow a carcass contour. This scraping lip 3 shaped according to the carcass contour ensures that du-20 ring scraping the carcass is kept accurately positioned on the carrier 7 (see figure 5) for the carcass.

In accordance with the invention the stem 2 is provided with a second scraping lip 4 for release of at least part of the fatty tissue 6 connected to a side of the fillet 25 5, see again figure 5.

As can be best seen in figure 1 the second scraping lip 4 is shaped as a protrusion extending in line of the stem 2 thus departing from the contour of the carcass, which contour accords with the line of the stem 2 into the first scrap-30 ing lip 3.

A fürther aspect is shown in Figure 3, which reveals that the second scraping lip 4 is slightly offset with reference to the mid-plane of the stem 2 and/or the first scraping lip 3. The offset between the second scraping lip 4 and be 35 midplane of the stem 2 and/or the first scraping lip 3 introduces during scraping some play between the surface of the carcass and the second scraping lip 4 at the time this second scraping lip 4 loses contact with the carcass. This moment is shown in figure 4 (continuous line of scraper 1) and figure 5 4 and causes that the second scraping lip 4 then is in a position to damage a membrane connecting the fatty tissue 6 with the outer side of the fillet 5. Conseguently during the process of scraping as schematically shown in figures 4 and 5 at 5 least part of the fatty tissue 6 connected to the concerning side of the fillet 5 is released therefrom by scraping the fatty tissue 6 from the surface of the fillet 5 by a scraper 1 that is simultaneously applied in its primary function of releasing the fillet 5 from the carcass.

2008001

Claims

A scraper (1) for loosening tissue joints between a fillet (5) and a carcass of slaughtered poultry, comprising a stem (2) which opens into a first scraper lip (3) which is bent for following a con - tour of a carcass, characterized in that the stem (2) is provided with a second scraper lip (4) for detaching at least a part of the fatty tissue (6) which is connected to a side of the fillet ( 5).

2. Scraper according to claim 1, characterized in that the second scraper lip (4) is formed as a protrusion that extends in line with the stem (2) and thereby extends away from the contour of the carcass.

3. Scraper according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second scraper lip (4) is slightly displaced with respect to the center plane of the trunk (2) and / or the first scraper lip (3) in order to introduce some play between the surface of the carcass and the second scraper lip (4) when this second scraper lip (4) loses contact with the carcass to cause the second scraper lip (4) to damage a membrane that connect the fatty tissue (6) with the fillet (5).

4. Method for releasing tissue connections between a fillet and a carcass of slaughtered poultry by scraping the fillet (5) off the carcass, characterized in that at least a part during the scraping process is removed from the fatty tissue (6) connected to an exposed or exposed side of the fillet (5).

5. Method as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that the fatty tissue (.6) is detached from the fillet (5) by a scraper (1) which is simultaneously used for removing the fillet (5) from the carcass.

6. Method according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the fatty tissue (6) is scraped from the surface of the fillet (5).